


Like punctuation points

by ca_te



Series: Slipping through time [5]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Pre-Slash, Reincarnation, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-05
Updated: 2012-02-05
Packaged: 2017-10-30 15:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/333291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ca_te/pseuds/ca_te
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s as though Merlin shines too brightly for Arthur to see the rest of the world</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like punctuation points

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the song "Planets bend between us" by Snow Patrol.

Arthur presses his face against the pillow; the alarm clock is trying to kill him, he is sure of that.  
  
Monday mornings are something he has always hated, at least as much as he loves Saturday nights, when he can be up late and Merlin sleeps over, curled against him. Sometimes they share dreams. It used to happen a lot when they were kids; he would wake up to find Merlin staring wide eyed at him and they would stay up for the rest of the night, talking about their dreams filled with dragons and battles and magic.  
  
Arthur blinks against the memories and forces himself out of bed. The house is silent and aseptic, just like his father likes it. Arthur knows that he’ll never get used to it, not when memories of how it was when his mother was still alive are tucked at the back of his mind, always there to stay.  
  
He is eating cereals from the box, standing in front of the kitchen’s counter, when his mobile flashes alight with an incoming message. He doesn’t even need to check who he is. He knows it is Merlin.  
  
The first time he got a good morning message from his best friend, Arthur had looked at those three words -“good morning, sleepyhead”- and hadn’t known how to react. Gwaine, Percy or even Leon didn’t send him messages like that. But then again, they weren’t the ones whose hand Arthur had held on the day of his mother’s funeral, they weren’t the ones who told him stories at night to make him fall asleep, replacing  a father that was never there.  
  
It was Merlin, always him, and that was exactly why good morning texts became a habit; something that made Arthur feel loved even when he kept waking up in an empty house.  
  
 _If you’re reading this message, move and bring your ass over to school. Xx_  
  
Arthur can’t help the smile that stretches his lips as his eyes linger on the two x at the end of the message.  
  
*  
  
He walks towards the school entrance and he doesn’t even have to try to find Merlin. His gaze lands effortlessly on the ink-black of his hair. Merlin flashes him a sleepy smile- he still reminds Arthur of the five years old he met at kindergarten and yet he is so much more.  
  
“I’m impressed! You managed to wake up!”  
  
Arthur feigns a sigh and bumps his shoulder against Merlin’s.  
  
it doesn’t matter if he feels like hugging Merlin tight, like holding his hand because his fingers are familiar and so nice.  
  
*  
  
They are supposed to finish their assignment for chemistry, but their books are abandoned on Arthur’s desk. Merlin said that he didn’t feel like being at home when the weather was so nice; Arthur had looked at him, all big eyes and toothy grin, and he knew he had no choice.  
  
They’re sitting on the grass, under a huge oak in the park near Arthur’s house. They’ve bought a cartoon of orange juice. Merlin is drinking, his Adam’s apple moving up and down and Arthur tries his best to focus his attention somewhere else.  
  
In moments like these he wonders why he ends up staring at his best friend, something warm twirling at the bottom of his stomach, instead than looking at some girl passing by, instead than thinking about Gwen. It’s as though Merlin shines too brightly for Arthur to see the rest of the world. There’s space only for his cheekbones and his long legs. For the way he always makes Arthur feel safe and understood.  
  
Merlin passes him the cartoon, his lips curved into a perfect smile; their fingers brush. As Arthur gulps down a mouthful of juice, he can feel his skin tingling where Merlin’s fingertips touched it. They feel like punctuation points- marks that remind him that he is standing on a thin line and that he could fall at any time.  
  
But then Merlin is rambling about some new comic he found, his eyes alight and his hands moving wildly all bottled up energy, and Arthur clutches the cartoon tighter, because he realizes that he doesn’t care if he falls.


End file.
